As for all marathons in Germany, the 2020 Hamburg Marathon was canceled due to the pandemic. For 2021 the organizers have moved the date from April to September. So, if you're visiting town on Sunday 12 September 2021, you're sure to notice the hordes of sweating runners being egged on by enthusiastic crowds – it's the annual Hamburg Marathon, when some 25.000 people run 42,125 kilometres through the city centre. The marathon is popular with runners for its flatness, but mainly for the excellent atmosphere, with hundreds of thousands of people partying along the route. Both the start (at 09:00) and finish (between 11:00 and 15:00) are next to the Messe (fair) halls beside the Planten un Blomen park, just west of the centre. Eliud Kipchoge set Hamburg's fastest time of 2:05:30h in 2013 (and in 2018 set the 2:01:39h world record in Berlin), while the women's record is held by Meselech Melkamu who needed 2:21:55h in 2016. More information on that race and others in Hamburg: www.marathon-hamburg.de.